Do I pay customs duty on a package from India to Canada?

On a delivered-duty-paid order you pay nothing on delivery, because the seller has settled the import charges before the parcel moves. On an ordinary order the courier clears it, pays duty and GST or HST on your behalf, and bills you the total plus a brokerage fee before handing the parcel over.

Brokerage is the part that surprises Canadian buyers, and it is separate from the tax. When a courier clears a shipment for you it charges a fee for doing the paperwork, and on a low-value parcel that fee can rival the duty itself. This is why the total on a duty-unpaid import so often exceeds what the arithmetic on the product price suggested, and why comparing a duty-paid price against a duty-unpaid one is not a comparison at all.

Beyond duty there is sales tax. Imports into Canada attract GST, and depending on the province HST or provincial tax as well, assessed at the border on the declared value. Rates and the treatment of low-value shipments change, and they are set by the Canada Border Services Agency rather than by any seller, so treat specific figures you read online as something to verify with CBSA rather than as settled fact. What a seller can tell you definitively is which model they use.

Aalacart ships to Canada delivered duty paid. Shipping and import charges are both calculated at checkout and included in the total you approve, the courier collects nothing at your door, and there is no brokerage bill afterwards. Prices display in Canadian dollars. Delivery runs 10 to 15 business days after a dispatch window of 2 to 4 business days.

Related questions

What is a brokerage fee?

A charge the courier adds for clearing your parcel through customs and fronting the tax. It is separate from the duty and the tax, and on a small parcel it can be the largest single line. A delivered-duty-paid shipment does not generate one.

Will I be charged GST or HST?

Import taxes are assessed at the border by CBSA on the declared value, and which apply depends on your province. On an Aalacart order these are settled at checkout as part of the total rather than billed to you later.

What if the courier asks me for money anyway?

On an Aalacart order, do not pay it. Email [email protected] with a photo of the notice and we will take it up with the carrier. A duty-paid consignment billed again is a carrier error and ours to fix.